Liquid Courage
by Shakabuku
Summary: Sometimes you just need a little liquid courage. ONE SHOT


Honestly he couldn't blame her, after everything that had happened between the two of them, he just couldn't. After how he left right after asking her out, of course she wouldn't consider this to be a date. She wasn't blind when it came to him anymore, she took everything with a grain of salt. Supposedly though she was beginning to trust him again, she did agree to go to dinner with him. There was just no possible way that she would view him in a romantic setting, or at least she had promised herself that. Poor girl had no clue just how interesting this evening was going to be.

He was going to do this right tonight whether she realized this was their first date or not. Although he did contemplate whether you could have a date without the consent of the other person. Alas he was nervously standing at her door, waiting for anyone to answer. As he anxiously tapped his foot, a simple thought ran through his mind - I could use a drink. The war inside him raged on and Jude answered the door, smiling. "Hey Tommy," his head jerked up at the sound of her voice. She looked beautiful, something he discovered he'd taken for granted after he had left her that fateful night.

For a girl who kept referring to this evening as dinner with a friend she sure had gone through a lot of trouble preparing for their non-date. "You look great," Jude smiles with a slight blush creeping into her cheeks. He leads her towards his car, even opening her door like the gentleman he never is. The awkward silence that he expects never arrives as Jude strikes up conversation like any other day, she really didn't think much of this evening. But as he listens to her nervously ramble on and on he can't help but think, maybe she knows.

"I'm not over dressed right? Cause if I am you can take me home and I'll change. It's just you didn't really tell me exactly where we're going so I didn't know what exactly to wear, ya know. Not that I'm mad about that cause really I love surprises it's just it makes it hard for a girl to properly dress up on occasion and as Sadie would say accessorize." Maybe he's not the only one who could use a drink. Tommy chuckles at her verbal onslaught and grabs her hand in a comforting gesture. He begins tracing soft circles in her palm and she sighs contentedly. The silence isn't awkward anymore.

Because nothing can ever happen the right way, their table was still being cleaned when they arrived. So as Jude went to the ladies' room, Tommy slipped away to the bar. One little drink wouldn't hurt, he did after all need all the help he could get. As he embraced the burning sensation his mind couldn't help but whisper, liquid courage.

The table was prepared just in the brink of time, had it taken any longer and the ever growing silence could have drowned someone. How this evening was awkward, neither could grasp, but it was none the less. Once seated mindless conversation was passed back and forth between the two. It almost became a chore, I just said something last time, it's your turn now. They welcomed the waiter's disruption to their oh so engaging conversation. Jude ordered a coke while Tommy discretely asked for a seven and seven. He needed just a little more courage.

She drummed her fingers together in her lap, looking up at him with a small shy smile. And as she bit her lip he started to laugh. He didn't laugh like an evil maniac plotting for world domination, although how Jude was starring at him you would have thought that may be the case. He was simply chuckling at the absurdity of it all. "What is wrong with us?" "There's nothing wrong with me, but you on the other hand may have some screws loose," she stated with her eyebrows raised and a condescending tone of voice. Guess she had yet to find the humor.

"Never mind, so how about that new coffee maker in hospitality?" It was a lame attempt at saving their conversation, but he was to focused on his approaching drink. Just a little more liquid courage would do it. If the waiter hadn't known any better, he would have thought the smiles that greeted him were actually meant for him.

As the night progressed and the waiter made more and more frequent trips to the Quincy for two table, Tommy became more and more unnerved. His dress shirt's sleeves had been unbuttoned and rolled up, his collar undone and his mouth was in a constant state of thirst. Starring at the empty glass of number five of the night he asked, "Is it just me or is it hot in here?" With a more than confused look on her face Jude shook her head no. He responded with an anxious laugh, "Guess it's just me then."

"Are you sure you're feeling alright? Cause if you aren't we can leave," Jude said with a worried face and a sympathy laced voice. He vehemently began to shake his head no, "I'm feeling absolutely great, you hear me great. How could I not be feeling great when I'm having dinner with you." Her head went down and a smile graced her lips as she felt the familiar dinosaurs stomp around in her stomach. Because with Tom Quincy she didn't have butterflies, she had feelings as powerful as dinosaurs. "Then I guess we should continue eating dinner."

Dinner progressed and Tommy's blood alcohol content exceeded well past the legal limit. "You know I have to say that my favorite song is White Lines. But then again after I say that I always wanna debate myself because who can forget the oldie but goodie Time To Be Your 21. I mean both are about me so I am a little biased but still they're so good." Maybe she should have ended dinner earlier. "Have you ever thought about Sadie and Liam's weird connection they have. I think we should her screw him and see if he gets any nicer. After him all we'll need is someone to gratify Darius and we could so have control of G Major. Or you know we should just start our own record label. We could do it. Well we couldn't but it's always been a dream of mine."

"Tommy you haven't been drinking ginger ale all night have you?"Jude posed rhetorically as she for the umpteenth time that evening had an incredulous look upon her face. "No but I am more than or is it older than, either way I'm bigger than 19." Raising her hand for the check she responded, "Legality isn't the issue." Laughingly he muttered, "I thought it was always our main issue." Oh the things liquid courage could do.

After a struggle for the keys, a debate over the radio, a feud over the roof being open or closed and last but not least a quarrel over where Tommy lived and how to get there, the pair had finally made it to the Quincy residence. With one of his arms slung over her shoulder, Jude attempted to get him into his apartment. The doorman took pity upon her and helped with moving Tommy into the elevator. Past pushing the floor button, Jude was on her own. Once at his door she found herself in a whole new predicament.

"Tommy which one of these keys is to your apartment?" Balanced up against the door he gave her a lopsided grin, "You look so pretty. You even dressed up for me. For me of all people." Thus far Jude had tried to remain in good natured annoyance, but this man was beginning to press his luck. "Which key Quincy?" Starring at her with a longing in his eye he remembered something, "It's a silver key. Yes silver, that's it, the silver one." Letting out a breath that blew her bangs up, she gritted out between clenched teeth, "All of your keys are silver." 'Then I was right!" He exclaimed right before he drunkenly stumbled to the floor.

"Dammit Tommy why do you have so many keys?!" "Because I am important. I'm a catch Jude. I'm important and successful and I got money and a future and I'm important and I'm good looking and between you and me, I'm well endowed," he finished with a conspiring whisper. "Yeah Tom between you, me and half of the female population of Canada," she muttered twisting the key that finally opened the door. She lugged her drunken catch over the threshold while thanking the heavens she was finally in his apartment.

Working him towards the couch was simple enough and having him fall into the cushions was the easiest thing in the world. He began to lightly doze off as Jude watched him. And it was at that point, that her indecision began. Leave him alone to deal with his own mess or stay and be the support she couldn't rely on him for? Though she told herself she would leave, because he was not her responsibility, she also knew that her sitting to rest for a few moments was her real answer. And as she moved to take a seat across from him, he reached out for her arm.

"Don't go," he beseeched her before scrambling up the couch and pulling her onto it with him. As he laid his head in her lap, she began to run her hands through his hair. "I'm sorry I screwed everything up, I really didn't mean to. I just wanted to be able to tell you the truth," he said as he nestled his head further into her lap. "Truth about what Quincy?" Jude goaded the inebriated man in her lap, simply complying to his drunken speech. "About me and you and our date tonight. But you didn't call it a date, but I wanted to call it a date."

"Is this what you normally do on all your dates, get so drunk that your date has to drag your ass home?" Wobbly pushing himself up he looked her in the eye and declared, "No! Though there are normally vast amounts of alcohol involved. But not tonight, tonight I just needed a little liquid courage." Jude helped him steady himself, "And what would you need courage for?" Giving into a losing battle he fell back into her lap.

"I was going to tell you I love you, but I screwed that up too. I think I need to go puke now," and with that he jumped up from the couch and dashed away to the bathroom. Faintly Jude heard a door slam shut and Tommy emptying out the contents of his stomach, but she didn't move a muscle. This wasn't a date. He wasn't reliable. Tommy was not a feasible romantic possibility for her. He was the poster child for commitment-phobia. She suddenly became very aware of everything around her, how she was breathing in and out. The remnants of the tag she had ripped off the skirt earlier that was now digging into her thigh, because although it wasn't a date she had still gotten a new outfit. That there was no longer any noise coming from the bathroom. And how she herself felt like she might throw up.

"Tommy!" she yelled as she stood up from the couch, rushing over to the closed door of the bathroom. "What did you mean by you were going to tell me you love me?" She fervently knocked on the door waiting for a reply, when she stilled received none she decided to open the door. What's the worse that can happen, she sees him naked? No harm in that. Turning the knob she found nothing of surprise or shock or even mild interest, only Tommy slumped over the toilet passed out. Something inside of her overtook her previous need for information and made her care for the man she felt everything and anything for. 

She brought him to his bed, stripped him of his shoes and shirt, made him as comfortable as possible. Leaning over his sleeping figure she kissed his forehead and whispered, "Sweet dreams, I love you." And as she turned to leave the room she heard him say, "I love you too."

The next morning Tom Quincy woke up with the headache from hell. Stumbling into the bathroom he reached for the aspirin. Finding no cup there, he went to his kitchen. What he discovered there was not what he expected. "Jude?" Turning from the refrigerator and dressed in his clothes, she ignored his curious stare, "You know Quincy you really ought to go grocery shopping." Jude's incredulous faces from the previous night had nothing on the shock blatantly written across Tommy's face this morning.

Closing the fridge's door he pulled Jude up, "Fill in the blanks." "Well after glass number eight, I believe, you just couldn't keep your hands off of me. So we high tailed it out of that public place and came here," she lied with a flirtatious smile gracing her lips. Hopping up onto the island she continued, "And then you promptly began to strip for me. Then right after you kissed me you quickly pulled away and threw up on my skirt. All in all it was a wonderful evening." With a an actual blush creeping into his cheeks he refused to believe, "No, no, I couldn't have been that stupid. I don't do things like that. Last night wasn't supposed to be like that."

Jumping from her previous position, she advanced on him, "Then how exactly was last night supposed to go Tommy?" "I was going to," he started but stopped. "Going to what? And this time you get no liquid courage." Looking her in the eye, he admitted the truth all by himself, "I was going to tell you, I love you." At that moment the world began to spin, because the truth really does come out when you're drunk. Walking backwards she braced herself against the counter top, "You weren't lying last night." "What are you talking about?"

"None of that happened last night. You told me you screwed up and that you were gunna tell me but you screwed up. And I didn't believe you cause you're you and you were drunk you. And all that happened was I took care of your drunk ass and put you to bed. But when you told me right after I tucked you in I should have realized. if it was once it would have been a drunken mistake but twice, dear god twice," she rambled on and on. "Jude," he took a step towards her. "I can't believe this is happening, things shouldn't be happening. What is everyone gunna think?" Another step, "Jude." "Maybe we should go back, I mean you still haven't technically said it since you've been sober, so we could if you wanted."

The last step, "Jude." He pulled her towards him, "I love you." And with that their lips connected in a delicate and passionate kiss. As they pulled apart she smiled against his lips, "I love you too." Tommy went to reconnect their lips, but Jude pulled away. A slightly confused look came across his face yet again," I thought." "Go brush your teeth Quincy and we'll see what happens from there." He kissed her nose and walked away to do as she bided. With a sexy smirk on his face he turned to her, "You know I happen to know what the best hangover remedy is," he propositioned while raising his eyebrows. "Just go," she laughed out. There's nothing wrong with a little liquid courage.


End file.
